Safety bands provide a guarantee that products packed in containers provided with plastic closures have not been tampered with. In the past, safety bands have only been used on plastic closures consisting of two parts. In such instances where the plastic closure consists of a separate lower part and a cap which is placed on this lower part, the safety band is connected to the lower part by means of webs and encompasses the whole perimeter of the cap, that is to say, it surrounds the cap entirely.
Positive locking means arranged around the safety seal prevent the cap from being opened without the safety band being torn open first. The safety band may also be fastened to the cap itself and engage positively in the lower part of the closure. Finally, solutions are known whereby the safety band is molded in one piece with the lower part of the closure and extends high enough over it to prevent access to the cap before the safety band has been removed.
The subject of the present invention is a single piece plastic closure comprising a base and a cap connected to the base by means of a hinge together with a safety band provided on the closure base.
The problem with such arrangements is that when the cap is pivoted, the safety band is in the way. Recognition of this fact had led experts to consider one piece caps and especially snap closing caps to be unsuitable for applications where the product has to be warranted to be tamperproof.